VOLUME 25 (#145-150)Michonne reacts to seeing Ezekiel’s head. She attacks Lydia and threatens her. Lydia promises that she had no idea this was happening. The Whisperers have never come across a group as big as theirs before. She thinks Alpha is afraid of them. Michonne goes to stab Ezekiel’s head, but Rick stops her. He tries to calm her down while Andrea does it. Michonne wants to get everyone and go to war, but Rick knows they can’t do that without thinking it through clearly. They are to bury the heads, but leave the posts to keep people from crossing until they know what they are up against. Rick and Andrea announce to everyone what has happened.

No one is happy with the “wait it out” plan, but Rick has to keep everyone calm to keep them from doing something stupid. When Maggie admits she executed Gregory, he says that she is undermining everything he has worked for. She explains that she couldn’t allow Gregory to keep running around turning people against her. Rick punches her and she punches him back. She reminds him that if Carl hand’t gone after Lydia, they wouldn’t have had this issue in the first place. They decide to cool down overnight and resume the conversation in the morning. Eugene is waiting for Rick at his house when he gets home. He explains that Rosita’s baby wasn’t his, but he couldn’t live without her. He is a smart man and he says they can wait until they are informed and ready, but they will have to make the Whisperers pay. Eugene gets excited about using Lydia as a bargaining chip.

Eugene doesn’t care if Alpha calls his bluff and they have to kill her. Andrea asks him to leave and he says he is done anyway. Andrea convinces Rick to let her take Carl and Lydia to the Hilltop. He agrees and they go to wake up the kids to get them ready to go. After they are gone, Rick finds Michonne sneaking around his house with her sword. She has been hearing the chatter around Alexandria and wanted to get Lydia to safety. Rick stops her from leaving and talks to her about his life and how he has to live with the regrets and guilt everyday. She cries and he tries to convince her she should find happiness and hold onto it. As Andrea takes Carl and Lydia to the Hilltop, Lydia becomes confused as to why they have to leave. Andrea tries to explain that people are upset because of what her mother did. Lydia pulls a gun on Andrea.

Andrea pulls out her own gun. Carl does the same and points it at Andrea first and then Lydia. They are able to calm her down and reassure Lydia that they only want to keep her safe. A man on patrol finds Alpha crying. She kills him so he can’t spread word of her weakness. Dwight arrives back at the factory. He wants to quit being their leader because their is too much pressure. The woman next to him, Laura, tells him he can’t because they need him now. The people in Alexandria are riled up with fear and anger. They want to attack right away, but Rick tells them they need to be smart about it. He wants to send in a team to gather information without being seen. The people gathered start to fight each other. Rick stops them by firing a shot and saying he will shoot the next person to throw a punch. He sends them home to cool off. He goes to Negan for help.

Rick tells him he just wants to talk to him about the situation when Negan gets a little too excited. Dwight tells Laura that he is leaving. She tries to tell him that he is the only thing that is keeping their people from returning to Negan’s ways because they don’t trust Rick. She tells him that Diane is a waste of his time and kisses him. He is still determined to leave. Andrea gets Carl and Lydia to the Hilltop. She tells the guard to let her know if anyone comes looking for her and to tell anyone that asks that she isn’t there. Lydia apologizes to Carl again for pulling a gun on his mom. She finds it hard to trust him because he is the first person to care about her. Maggie is patiently waiting for answers so she can return her people to the Hilltop. Negan asks Rick if he set up the Whisperers to keep his people united, wishing he would have had something like it when he lead his own people. When Rick says he isn’t behind it, Negan encourages him to use it to his advantage. The people don’t necessarily want action, but security. He doesn’t have to lie to them directly, but can use the situation to manipulate them into safety. Rick says he can work with that. Vincent blames Rick for everything that has happened since he took over Alexandria. His wife, Julia calms him down and helps him realize that isn’t true. They were both so focused on keeping their son, Josh, alive that now they have nowhere to focus their energy but hatred. A couple comes to their door. Rick goes to talk to Eugene. He has a plan: start an army. They will start selecting people from the communities to form a militia and use Eugene’s stored bullets from the factory to train them. As Dwight packs to leave, he grabs Lucille. He grabs a horse and takes off. Laura goes with him.

Rick finishes his talk with Eugene about the army and then starts to head home saying they will start in the morning. Morton and Vincent come up behind him to scare him into action against the Whisperers. Morton starts to attack him and Vincent tries to stop him. Morton is convinced they have to kill Rick because he saw their faces. Vincent tries to stop Morton, but gets knocked to the ground. When Morton goes after Rick again, Rick bites him and takes out a huge chunk of his neck to allow him to bleed to death. Andrea walks in on Carl and Lydia having sex and decides to sneak away from the situation rather than confronting them. Maggie finds Rick and gets him to the doctor. He tells Michonne she has to find Vincent and she goes out to chase down the man who is getting away on a horse with a woman. Rick is still covered in blood when he addresses the community. He tells them he was attacked by two of their own. Dwight and Laura walk in during Rick’s speech. Rick explains they can’t afford to go backwards to what it was before they created a wonderful, safe community. He tells them they are going to form a dedicated military to kill the Whisperers. Michonne brings in Vincent, who tries to explain what happened. Rick says he isn’t going to kill him because they need everyone to band together.

VOLUME 26 (#151-156)Rick and Dwight lead a group in attacking roamers that surround them out in a field. Dwight is constantly telling people how to respond to the changing situation. Afterwards, Rick tells Dwight he is a leader whether he wants to be or not. Rick is a liability out on the field and Dwight obviously has some military training and the trust of the soldiers. They need Dwight to step up and lead the army. Eugene is working on a two way radio. Maggie and her group are packing up to leave the next day. Jesus is staying behind, but Rick knows they will need more people. Maggie says she will send what she can when she gets back. Rick tells her to let Carl and Lydia know they are both welcomed back in Alexandria. Vincent catches up with Rick as he is walking to thank him for sparing his life. Rick tells him he will make up for his actions by all the good he will do in the military. Rick quickly checks on Negan and leaves him without even making it all the way down the stairs. Father Gabriel asks Rick to start training with the army and Rick accepts. Rick makes it back home to find Michonne packed and ready to go. He tells her Pete doesn’t need her making runs on his ship. The Kingdom needs her. She tells him she has been thinking the same for a while and just needed the push to go. Rick is glad he will be working with people he trusts and they contemplate who should lead the Saviors. Eugene keeps trying to find someone over his radio. He is shocked when someone actually answers.

Eugene talks with the stranger over the radio and immediately asks where they are. The stranger points out that it will take them time to build up trust. Eugene admits that he is with a group in a community that they have easily defended several times. The stranger says he is also with a group, one larger than the 50 Eugene reports. They agree not to deal with anyone except each other. Laura is impressed with how quickly Dwight was able to train Gabriel, but Dwight is unsure Gabriel will be able to handle shooting actual people rather than the dead. Rick runs into Brandon on the road, and Brandon attacks him. After a few punches, Rick overpowers him. Brandon is upset because Rick killed his father, but Rick points out all the people his parents tried to kill (him, Maggie, hit Carl in the head with a brick). Michonne comes along and Rick stops. He tells Brandon he is on probation and if he tries anything, he will kill him. Gabriel goes to the church to ask forgiveness for being a killer. Brandon goes to Negan. He offers to free him if he will help Brandon get to the Whisperers to warn them about Rick’s army starting a war in hopes they will all kill each other. Negan says he has to think about the offer. Rick has people painting, “Silence the Whisperers” on the walls to keep peoples’ fury directed. Michonne is uncertain about the tactic. A woman comes rushing up to tell them the keys to the jail cell are gone. Michonne runs head and when Rick catches up, they see Negan is gone.

People are wondering why Rick is asking about the gate. Annie and Siddiq confirms no one has been out since Maggie’s group left for the Hilltop. Rick thinks Negan is snuck out with them. Brandon slips out of the convoy lead by Dante. He meets Negan a bit into the woods and gives him his jacket and belt. Negan decides he is in charge and tells Brandon to point him in the right direction. Rick meets with Aaron and Michonne. They think Negan will head to the Whisperers to try to get revenge on Rick. Aaron and Michonne prepare to leave to kill him before he gets there. They plan to keep the situation quite. Eugene talks to the man on the radio until someone is shot outside. He runs out to find an Alexandrian didn’t recognizes and shot a Hilltop person, Marco, that stayed behind to help. Dwight is out training his group for the army and it doesn’t go well. He points out they will have to be sneakier to get the jump on the Whisperers. Laura asks if he should give up Lucile, but Dwight points out he wants to change the meaning of it and prevent it from becoming a king’s scepter at the Sanctuary. Magma’s group is among Dwight’s trainees. Though they have been at Alexandria for months, Connie and Kelly don’t feel like part of the community. Magma tries to remind them how bad it was out on their own, but they don’t seem convinced risking their lives to save Alexandria from the Whisperers is the best choice. Michonne and Aaron find Negan and Brandon’s trail and try to catch up on horseback. Brandon is complaining and starts to cry when they get to the border Alpha warned them against crossing. He is upset the Whisperers killed his mother and Rick killed his father. Negan kills him and goes on with his own plan in mind.

Maggie has ridden ahead of the group to scout out a place to camp for the night when she runs into Andrea on her way back to Alexandria from the Hilltop. Andrea decides to stay with them instead of riding through the night. Michonne and Aaron find Brandon’s body and leave it to continue going after Negan. In the middle of what used to be a town, Negan speaks up to call out the Whisperers. He tells them he wants to join them. Beta isn’t sure Negan can be quiet enough to be with them, but doesn’t want to fight him either. They take his knife and tell him to come with them. Eugene tells the person on the other end of the radio about the Whisperers and how they killed his pregnant girlfriend. The other person says her name is Stephanie. Andrea returns to Alexandria and Siddiq sends her to Rick to get filled in on what has been happening. Michonne tries to talk to Aaron about maybe dating Jesus, but he isn’t really interested. They are attacked by Whisperers. Michonne tries to explain they are just after a dangerous fugitive, but they don’t care and start fighting them. Negan enters the Whisperer’s camp and is taken to Alpha. He says he is in love when he sees her.

Michonne and Aaron continue to fight Beta’s team of Whisperers, but Aaron is hurt in the process. Dwight shows up with his men and starts shooting them. The Whisperers that survive, including Beta, run away into the woods. He sends Michonne to the Hilltop to get Aaron help. Michonne asks Dwight to hunt him down. He appeases her and then decides doing that would only make matters worse. Andrea is furious about the messages painted all over Alexandria. Rick explains he needed the people to stop being angry at him and direct it elsewhere. She isn’t comfortable with him manipulating people. Negan tries to hit on Alpha, but she just gets annoyed and punches him. Beta shows up to inform Alpha that Negan lied about not knowing who they were. Negan admits it and says he thinks he can be useful to them. Siddiq watches the wall. Carl wakes up to Lydia watching him and she thanks him for making her happy. Maggie talks to Brianna about sending a rider to Alexandria for an update when Michonne arrives with Aaron who isn’t breathing. Dwight hurries his troops out of Whisperer territory knowing that they have started a war because they were not only seen there, but they attacked the Whisperers.

Beta is furious that Alpha is letting Negan not only survive but also join their group. He questions her and she asks if he is challenging her. He backs down and apologizes. Alpha sends him away. She tells Negan he can stay, but she doesn’t think he’ll survive. He asks when he will get a skin suit, and she tells him when he earns it. Negan is noisy and he goes on with life as a Whisperer. Most of the group ignores him. When he is attacked by zombies, they leave him to deal with it on his own. He brings them two fresh bodies and they are impressed with his strength. When he makes his way back out to the edge of the group, he finds two men trying to rape a woman. He stops them. Beta takes him to be punished. Alpha explains Negan took away the girls ability to show that she is strong. She sends him to sleep outside the group for the night. Negan is laying in a field when Alpha approaches him. He tells her he lost someone before the world ended and hasn’t felt anything since. He points out that protecting the weak is what makes them civilized. Alpha agrees that they are animals, but admits her ways didn’t make her daughter strong as the tears come. Negan tell her she can’t bottle up her emotions and pretend they don’t exist. Then he slits her throat and holds her until she dies. He plans to take the head to Rick.

VOLUME 27 (157-162)Negan arrives and surrenders to Dwight and his small crew keeping watch. Dwight tells the woman holding the rifle to shoot him, but she refuses. Dwight is positive they should shoot him, but they all agree Rick will want to hear Negan’s story. Beta finds Alpha’s body. He declares there won’t be a new Alpha. They will live by her wisdom and wage war for revenge. Negan tells Rick he wants to be trusted and a part of the community. He tells him how he got out, where he went and what he did. He presents Alpha’s head to Rick and Andrea. Rick offers him a isolated position at an outpost if he stays loyal through the war. Negan agrees to Rick’s terms. Rick goes to Dwight to talk to him about the war. Soldiers are coming in from the Hilltop and Kingdom to help. He expects the Whisperers will come to them and Dwight is in charge of holding them off. Dwight questions whether or not they can trust what Negan has told them. Rick points out they don’t have a choice and Negan hasn’t turned on them yet. He asks Dwight to watch him and shoot him if something goes wrong. Jesus visits AaronZa in the hospital. Alex comes in and points out the sexual tension between them, and Jesus leaves. Maggie has her troops ready to send along to Alexandria. Carl and Lydia want to go, but Michonne tells them they are needed at the Hilltop to protect Maggie. Dwight starts handing out positions for war. Negan stands in the corner because Dwight won’t let him out of his sight. Zachary tries to convince William that he doesn’t need to send the Kingdom’s men to Alexandria. He points out that some might follow Michonne, but the people are looking to him to lead. Eugene tells Stephanie they are just outside of Washington DC. She tells him her group is in Ohio. In the privacy of their home, Rick wonders if he is making the right choice by trusting Negan. Andrea tells him not to second guess himself so much. Dwight gets his men in position. Magna signals she is ready as well. Gabriel gets to the top of the water tower and sees the Whisperers and their herd approaching.

In his rush to warn the others, Gabriel falls from the water tower and catches his leg on a ladder rung. Beta comes and slices him open to leave him for the zombies. Richard arrives at the Savior’s camp, but they refuse to send help. They say their alliance ended when Dwight left. They take his horse and send him off. William has what men he didn’t send to Rick watching the Kingdom. Zachary doesn’t agree and says William will regret dismissing him. Dwight sees the approaching Whisperer’s and tells everyone to get ready. He refuses to give Negan a gun. The fighting starts and the Whisperers appear from within the herd to kill Dwight’s men. They have to fall back to a new position. Magma’s team flanks the herd while the warriors from the kingdom also help out. Negan is able to grab a gun from a fallen soldier and starts helping out. Dwight is shocked by how many Whisperers there are. Maggie has feelings for Dante. Lydia tells Carl it won’t matter if they see the Whisperers coming because of how large the group is. Eugene goes to the factory to speed up production. Aaron starts trying to walk again. Siddiq goes to Pete (ship captain) for men, but he can’t spare any. Rick takes Andrea lunch while she watches the walls of Alexandria. Jesus asks Michonne about Aaron. She is thrilled to hear he is interested, but he points out they have to survive the war first. They join the battle. Beta is killing men so they become part of their herd. He almost gets Dwight, but Negan comes to the rescue. He promises he is going to kill Beta.

Negan and Beta start to fight. Dwight tosses Lucille to Negan. Michonne, Jesus, and the rest of the group continue to fight the Whisperers. Lucille breaks and Negan is covered in zombies as Beta gets away with the help from other Whisperers. The Whisperers are held back, and Dwight is ready to regroup their own forces. The horde starts making its way out of the woods towards them. Meanwhile, a few Whisperers rest so they can get Beta to safety. One wonders what his face looks like and goes to take off his mask. Beta stabs him through the mouth. Dwight decides they will divide into four groups (led by Jesus, Michonne, Magna, and himself) and lead parts of the herd away and regroup at their fallback position. Lydia tells Carl the Whisperers have an advantage over their group because they don’t care about others. She tells Carl she doesn’t love him or think of him “that way.” He thinks she is only telling him this because she thinks the war will end badly. Eugene continues to teach people how to make bullets. Rick tries to feel useful by looking for some advantage over the Whisperers. Aaron ignores Dr. Carson’s bed-rest order so he doesn’t feel useless. IN the Kingdom, William threatens Zachary with a knife. He warns him not to threaten him again. The Whisperers are surprised when they find their herd separated. Dwight starts picking them off so they can strip them of their skins and wear them themselves.

Heath finds Vincent struggling onward and rides in to save him and take him home. Following Dwight’s plan, Michonne and her group wander into their piece of the herd and start quietly killing the Whisperers and the dead. Beta wakes up and demands to be taken back to the front lines. Vincent has been followed from the Sanctuary. William runs into Taylor while walking around the Kingdom. He is annoyed with the old-English speak and tells Taylor to knock it off. Aaron prepares himself incase something happens. Dante comes to talk to Maggie. Dwight’s group has taken out their part of the herd. He says they cannot use their flesh suits for a new defense system because it is disrespectful to the people the dead used to be. A Whisperer begs for his life and Dwight shoots him in the head. Dante expresses his interest in being with Maggie, but she tells him she will only ever love Glenn. Carl gets out of bed and starts walking around the Hilltop. Suddenly, flaming arrows start coming over the walls. The woman from the Sanctuary that stole Vincent’s horse, Tara, comes along claiming she wants to return it to him. When she still refuses to send men for the war, Heath tells her to keep it and sends her away. Carl calls out that they are under attack. The Hilltop gate comes down. Maggie gets shooters up on the walls to take out the archers. Dante lines people up to keep the Whisperers from advancing too far. When the house catches on fire, Maggie and Carl run inside to save Sophia and Hershel. Lydia stays outside convinced she will be more useful against the herd. One of the Whisperers says they are there to rescue her because they need her. She tells him their time is over and shoots him in the head.

Lydia fights off the Whisperers with the others. Carl and Maggie find Sophia and Hershel inside the house. Carl sends them out while goes around and finds more people. While helping Johnny and a women get out, he pushes them forward while he takes a piece of the falling house. They leave him there. Maggie and the others get out and Lydia warns them to move back because they are loosing ground. Aaron gets Carl out of the house. Dr. Carson tells Aaron to fight off the Whisperers while he artificially respirates Carl. As the group starts to get tired, they realize that they are only fighting the dead and the Whisperers are already gone. They have won the battle, but it seems hollow with the Hilltop exposed and on fire. Beta insists he is well enough to walk on his own. Heath tells Rick what happened to Vincent at the Sanctuary. Taylor runs to tell William that the Hilltop is under attack. The Kingdom prepares to send help. Magna cuts off Connie’s hand while Dwight mocks Negan for mourning Lucille. Beta watches Dwight’s camp from afar. They plan to return to their own camp so they can end the war. Eugene plans to take a cart full of bullets back to Alexandria. When one of his workers questions why he doesn’t wait until morning, Eugene explains that the bullets are their contribution to the people that are out there dying to keep them safe. Rick tells Andrea to watch out for Saviors while in the bell tower. Tara returns to the Sanctuary leader to tell her what happened and her misgivings about not sending help. The leader, Sherry, says she is depending on a victory from Rick Grimes so they can swoop in while Alexandria and the others are weak and tired and take over.

Negan mourns the human Lucille and gives her a new burial. William pushes to get to the Hilltop before sunrise and they see the smoke in the distance. William is surprised to see people are still alive when they arrive. Maggie says they will go to Alexandria for now and rebuild in the future. Lydia feels guilty about having been part of the Whisperers and the destruction they leave in their wake. Carl explains that he and his people have also had to do some horrible things to keep their communities in tact. He says they did what they had to do so they can live. She is comforted. Beta refuses to rest and has his men help him continue on. Rick worries that he is going soft from living inside Alexandria’s walls. Andrea points out that he just survived an attack. He wonders if the violent life is worth living. Eugene arrives with a cart full of ammunition and then passes out from exhaustion. Dwight arrives shortly after with his remaining men and Negan. Dwight tells Rick that Beta got away, but they kill almost a thousand dead and Whisperers. Rick explains he saw thousands of them and the job isn’t done. Beta reaches the rest of the group. The dead are being steered towards their enemies and he is going to let them finish the war for them.

VOLUME 28 (#163-168)The herd can be heard approaching Alexandria. Andrea and Dwight immediately start getting things ready. Eugene insists on helping to redirect the dead. They leave on horseback and Rick says they can handle whatever can’t be lead away. Eugene plans to get the herd’s attention by riding past them and leading them east towards the ocean. The dead are bottlenecking into the street, so they have to go down an alley to try to lead some away. Rick takes charge inside Alexandria with Siddiq by his side. Annie keeps watch, but they don’t want to fire any shots until they have to. Negan comes out to see what is going on, but Rick tells him to get back inside. The trench with spikes fills up with zombies so the rest can walk right over it. Eugene points out they will only be able to lead away about a hundred dead at a time. Jesus and Michonne take the first batch and take turns leading and slicing through them with swords. Meanwhile, back in Alexandria, the dead have reached the gates. They start to kill them with knives, but it isn’t long before the gate comes down. Paula is overrun by zombies. Negan saves Rick from the same fate. John watches the demise of Alexandria with binoculars from a telephone pole.

Maggie, Carl, and Lydia arrive at Alexandria with the rest of the Hilltop group. Michonne comes to tell them they weren’t caught off guard, but Maggie points out the gate is down. Maggie goes to help lead the herd away. Carl and Lydia stay to watch Hershel. Negan gets Rick into a house. All the survivors in Alexandria are trapped inside houses. Negan asks Rick what is the worst thing he has ever done. Rick says live. Negan tells him how he couldn’t kill his wife after she turned and had to have someone else do it. He stopped seeing people as people because they were so weak. He started doing things like bashing brains in to scare people into living. Heath enjoys being on a horse since he lost his leg because it allows him to contribute. Eugene understands the need to feel useful. Dwight has his partner fire a shot to drive the herd away from Alexandria. He leads them to Andrea so he can go back towards the wall to help those inside. As the herd starts to thin out, Rick gets up to start killing some. Negan tells him to stay by the door while he goes out so that Rick doesn’t get them both killed. Carl gathers up the rest of the Hilltop people to go help the others. The Saviors are gearing up to attack Alexandria.

Negan is enjoying killing the zombies, but gets overrun quickly. Rick saves his life. They decide they will alternate going out the front and back doors until they are clear enough to get out. Siddiq finds Eugene’s radio and someone on the other end asks for Eugene. When Siddiq answers, the other voice stops talking. Kelly wants to go out of the house and help and Connie wants to go with him. The herd has stopped moving, but the group knows they have to get it further away from Alexandria. Eugene and Andrea watch the zombies fall off the edge of a cliff and into the ocean. Pete will have to be warned not to fish near there. They get the horses to drive a few stragglers back to the group. Everyone is working together to clear out the zombies. John and Sherry meet up with Dwight, Laura, and Heath. John is given no restrictions on what he does to them and immediately goes for Dwight. Andrea and Eugene’s group are trapped between two groups of zombies. Eugene sends the others to get out so he can keep them together and moving towards the coast. He gets boxed in and Andrea goes back for him. They make it out, but Andrea is bitten on the neck in the process.

Andrea insists they keep driving the zombies over the cliff into the ocean before they are all killed. Rick, Negan, Siddiq, and a few others meet up as they clear out zombies in Alexandria. Carl and his group join them. Sherry arrives with her group to make their point that they don’t want anything to do with the rest of them. She is shocked by Negan’s presence. Dwight arrives and jumps right in against the Saviors. Rick tells him to stand down and invites Sherry inside to discuss what she and her people want. Sherry explains her people don’t want anything to do with them. When Rick tries to tell her he isn’t a dictator, that they all work together, she attacks him. He ends up pushing her off him and she breaks her neck against a table. Andrea comes in and shows Rick the bite on her neck.

Andrea passes out. Rick and Michonne take her to her bed. Dwight upset about Sherry’s death. When Andrea wakes up, she tells Rick to leave the room because she doesn’t want the rest of her time to be filled with tears. Carl goes in and she tells him that no one is meant to be with a specific person. She is glad she got to watch him become a man and just wants him to be happy. Everyone comes by to say goodbye to Andrea. Dwight handles the Saviors and has them helping with cleanup. Eugene apologizes to Rick, but Rick knows it wasn’t his fault and tells him so. Rick is finally able to go in. Andrea tells him he has to go on because their little world won’t survive without him. If he dies, so will everyone else, and it will all be for nothing. He agrees. Andrea dies and Rick crawls into bed with her. At the last minute, he decides that he isn’t going to let her bite him. He puts his knife into her head and goes to join the others. He thinks about Andrea’s last words as he greats his friends and tells them they have a lot to do.

Dwight shows Rick the progress they have made. Rick thanks the Saviors for their help even though they didn’t help when it was really needed. John wants to know where Sherry is. Rick tries to explain what happened, but John is done being friendly. Negan steps in and asks John if he wants things to go back to the way they were when he was in charge. He also points out that Sherry wasn’t exactly a brilliant visionary. He tells him to go back to the factory. When they need help, Rick will provide it. When Rick needs help, they had better give it. The Saviors leave. The dead are buried. That night, Rick sleeps on Andrea’s grave.

VOLUME 29 (#169-174)Carl is at Andrea’s grave with Lydia. He tells her about how he killed the kid named Ben that Andrea and Dale had adopted because he was a danger to them all and no one else seemed to be able to do it. After the battle against Negan and the Saviors, Carl admitted to Andrea that he did it. She told him she loved him and that was when he started calling her mom. Maggie expresses her anger to Rick about Negan roaming around free. Rick tells her Negan is leaving as soon as the conflict is over. Siddiq told Rick about Eugene’s radio and comes to talk to Stephanie. He tells her he will travel to a place of their choosing so their community feels safe. She thinks she can convince her group to agree. Eugene wants to be on the team that goes to meet them and Rick agrees to let him go. Dwight is working around the community and makes a comment about working too hard and Rick taking the credit. Rick says they will talk later and goes to find Jesus. Carl sees Maggie packing up the donations to take back to the Hilltop. He tells her he plans to go back, but hasn’t told his dad yet. Rick wants to send Jesus to Ohio, but Jesus is reluctant because of his new relationship with Aaron. That night, Rick confronts Dwight. Dwight says Rick’s time as leader is up because he is making bad decisions. He didn’t want to lead the Saviors because of their hate. The same hate he sees in Rick. Rick tells him he doesn’t have time for Dwight because of everything that is going on. He warns him that he is barely keeping his rage in check and doesn’t think adding Dwight’s grave to the list will really matter. Rick wakes up from laying on Andrea’s grave. Michonne tell him she is going to meet the new community and is taking Magna, Yumiko, and Siddiq. Carl comes to say goodbye before leaving to go back to the Hilltop. Rick tells Carl he is proud of him. Dwight watches Negan as he packs canned food and heads out the gate. Michonne and Maggie’s groups also leave. Maggie sends Dante to follow Negan so they don’t loose track of him.

Yumiko points out they haven’t been as far north as they are planning to go and have no idea what awaits them. Jesus agrees to keep an eye on Dwight for Rick. [dark hair pony tail] asks Rick to look after Mikey, who is having a tough time since losing Paula. Briana talks to Maggie, but Maggie is too distracted to pay attention. Dante follows Negan. Laura tries to calm Dwight down, but he believes there is no difference between Negan and Rick. Rick goes to comfort Mikey, who misses his mom. Michonne’s group talks to a bald guard from the Kingdom. He’s been a little out beyond the safe zone and everything seems quiet. No one really knows past that. William from the Kingdom meets up with Maggie to give her the materials they had been collecting for an expansion to be repurposed for repairs to the Hilltop. Negan goes to human Lucille’s grave and cries over the bat. Siddiq is on watch at night when Eugene gets up to urinate. Magna and Yumiko are making out. Zombies come out of nowhere and surprise them all, but they are able to dispatch them and no one is hurt. They pack up to move on. Jesus wants to go back to the Hilltop, but Aaron isn’t sure he’s ready. Jesus tells him he loves him. Michonne’s group comes to a city and they decide the population should have dispersed enough for them to go through it. They are surprised to find it empty. They find a building to stay the night in. Siddiq has been feeling guilty and admits that Rosita loved him.

Siddiq opens up to Eugene about Rosita. He thinks she loved him while Eugene is still convinced she loved him and Siddiq was just a mistake. Eugene calms his anger and comforts Siddiq. In the morning, the group gets ready to leave the city. Yumiko points out the empty buildings could be full of useful supplies, but Michonne reminds them they are on a deadline to meet people. When they get to the edge of the city, Michonne yells out to see if anything happens. One lone woman comes out of hiding. Michonne immediately takes a defensive tone, but the woman points out she came out with her gun pointed at the sky, not at them. She introduces herself, Juanita Sanchez, but she wants to be called Princess, the Princess of Pittsburgh. Eugene reminds them to keep their voices down and Princess confirms the city isn’t completely empty. A few zombies come towards them, but Princess kills them quickly with her automatic rifle. She asks to join them, but Michonne is suspicious. She points out she is grossly outnumbered and Eugene agrees it would be suicidal for her to try anything. They agree to follow her to get her things, but put her own gun to her back along the way. She takes them to a building and calls out to a group of people. Michonne is furious. Princess reveals she was only joking and goes to get her stuff.

Yumiko and Magna like Princess, but Michonne has her doubts and is ready to leave her behind when she takes too long. Princess comes out with a spear and they take off. Michonne decides not to give Princess her gun back yet. Rick worries about Michonne and the rest of the group. He helps teach Mikey how to plant crops. Michonne’s group continues on. Carl helps Maggie and the others rebuild the Hilltop. Rick is still sleeping on Andrea’s grave. Aaron and Jesus decide they are ready to leave Alexandria. Lydia thanks Carl for all the help he has given her. She is starting to feel like she belongs. Sophia watches them while she sits with Hershel. Michonne and Princess go to kill off a group of zombies. Yumiko tries to convince Magna to come out of the closet. Yumiko tells their group, but none of them make a big deal about it. Aaron and Jesus head out and Rick tells them to let him know what Maggie needs for the Hilltop. Neither Carl or Sophia is able to sleep. She tells him she misses him as her friend. He agrees they can spend more time talking. Maggie can’t sleep. Rick tries to tell Andrea’s grave that things are getting back to normal, but breaks down crying. Jesus and Aaron rest for the night. As Aaron is sleeping Beta comes up behind Jesus.

Jesus and Aaron are attacked by Beta and the Whisperers. They are able to kill the attackers and Beta's mask comes off as he dies. They realize he was a famous basketball player. Dante goes into Maggie's tent to talk to her about all the progress that has been made at the Hilltop. She is looking at a map and wondering why Negan gets to live like nothing ever happened. Carl feels guilty for taking a lunch break while everyone else is working. Lydia points out that he is working too hard. Sophia drops what she is carrying and Carl goes to help her pick it up. Lydia is not amused. Michonne's group is getting close to the meeting place. The Whisperers are recruiting, Mike's family (wife and son Josh) are not willing to wear zombie masks. A Whisperer threatens to kill Mike, but Jesus and Aaron come along and kill the Whisperers. Aaron starts to tell them about their home and Jesus says they can talk as they travel. Laura tells Dwight she is done with him until he gets over his hatred. Michonne's group arrives at a train yard. Eugene points out Stephanie's group should be waiting for them. They debate whether to set up camp or look around. A group shows up with weapons ready and tells them to drop their own.

Negan finds a sunflower and digs it up while talking to it about how gorgeous and big-dicked they both are. A couple of zombies come after him and he pushes them over thinking they could kill someone that is coming after him. He puts the potted sunflower on Lucille's grace and goes home. A dog has gotten into his things, so he kills and eats it. While searching for supplies, he decides to stop into a barn. There is a bat there, but he leaves it there. He talks to Lucille's grave and says a bat can't replace her. He goes back for the bat. Shortly after, he happens to be walking along a barbwire fence and takes some to wrap around it. As he is finishing his new Lucille, Maggie and Dante arrive. Maggie has a gun and tells Dante to wait outside. Negan says he regrets what he did, but at the time he thought it was necessary. He explains that Rick showed him there can be life in the new world. Maggie says when she pictures Glenn, it is when Negan killed him with a smile. He begs her to kill him and offers her his new bat. She refuses to give him what he wants. On her way out, she kills two zombies to ensure his survival in his misery. She kisses Dante and they start heading home. Negan burns the new bat.

VOLUME 30 (#175-180)Michonne’s group is taken inside a building and introduced to Lance Hornsby. Eugene demands to speak to Stephanie, but Lance has the advantage with his armored soldiers’ guns pointing at them. He wants to know where they are from, but Eugene insists they will only trust Stephanie. When asked, Michonne says they are all united in the decision. Lance thinks this is a good sign, but has his men keep aim at them. After his men search around for any surprises, he starts asking questions. He tells them he will take them back to the Commonwealth, which is where Stephanie is. Lance sleeps in a wagon on their way back while Michonne’s group follows behind on their horses. A soldier next to Michonne tells him there is nothing to worry about and they will get used to the Commonwealth’s ways. As they approach, they see a stadium. Lance explains that is where they have concerts and football games. The population is around 50,000 people. There is a giant board for people looking for people to leave messages for lost loved ones. Eugene points out a picture that Elodie is looking for her mom, Michonne.

Michonne demands to be taken to her daughter, but one of the guards points a gun at her and Lance explains some of the pictures are old. There is somewhere they need to go for answers. Michonne agrees to follow and they start through the city. Stephanie calls out to Eugene because she wants to apologize for not being there to meet him. Lance yells at her reminding her that her radio usage was unauthorized, but forgiven. He tells her he will reassign her to something unpleasant if she doesn’t get to work. They are brought into a large building where Maxwell Hawkins welcomes them to the Commonwealth and asks about their previous professions. He takes them to meet Governor Pamela Milton. She introduces her self and claims she is the solution they have been looking for. She starts her audition, but Michonne lets her know it is two way. As Eugene and the rest of the group wait out in the hall, a group of exhausted soldiers return. Mercer is mentioned as the person that trained them. Pamela gives Michonne a speech about how they are engines and need to work together in the same direction. After a while, Michonne gets inpatient and tells Pamela she’ll only believe it if she hears it from her daughter that is alive and in the Commonwealth. Pamela agrees to find Elodie right away. They go to the bakery and Michonne and Elodie are reunited.

Mikey shares with Rick a poem Annie told him to write to work out his feelings. Rick reminds Mikey he shouldn’t ever be afraid to share his feelings. Mikey suggests Rick does the same with his feelings about Andrea. Eduardo is relieved from a boring day on watch duty an discovers Maggie and Dante having sex in the shed. Maggie is ashamed and leaves. Pamela’s son, Sebastian, is in a field trying to have sex with a girl named Kayla. They are attacked by a zombie and Mercer saves them. Kayla is mortified someone was there to watch them. Sebastian yells at Mercer for not keeping out of site. Sebastian doesn’t see the line of zombies Mercer did kill to keep them safe. Michonne and Elodie arrive at Elodie’s apartment and fall into hugging and crying. Michonne apologizes for how it all happened and that she couldn’t get to Elodie’s father’s house in time. Elodie explains Colette didn’t make it when they were trying to follow her dad’s plan of going north from Kentucky. They were in a group of bad people that protected them from the dead, but expected sex in return. Colette refused and they killed her. Elodie killed the entire group and that is what really haunts her. Pamela asks Michonne’s group to give her time to reconnect with her daughter before their weapons are returned and they are given the chance to stay or leave. Sebastian comes along and complains about Mercer like a spoiled child. After Sebastian storms off, Mercer tries to explain what happened and Pamela reprimands him for letting her son get himself into danger. In the locker room, George sympathizes with Mercer and says the troops are just waiting for him to make his move. Mercer thinks the leaders will kill themselves off and he won’t have to do anything. Siddiq walks in on their conversation.

Mercer explains he and George were just blowing off steam. He tells Siddiq that Sebastian is a pain, but he should be lucky enough to avoid him. They all agree that everything is fine and Siddiq leaves for the bathroom. Dante starts kissing Maggie and Sofia bursts into the room and starts yelling at Maggie before storming off. Maggie catches up to her and explains the situation. They make up. Elodie doesn’t know how she feels about Michonne, who is willing to wait for Elodie as long as it takes. Carl jokes with Sofia about Maggie and Dante, which helps her feel better. Michonne declares she trusts the people of the Commonwealth because her daughter does. Pamela wants to visit Alexandria and they agree to leave in a few days. Pamela leaves them with Stephanie to show them to their rooms at the Whitmore and then around town. Michonne is curious about Pamela and her lack of questioning. Sebastian comes along and forcefully hits on Yumiko. Magma steps in and he knocks her down. Princess takes out her spear and knocks all the guards down. Mercer throws his axe to get the spear out of her hands. Sebastian wants them all arrested. Elodie tries to apologize to him and he hits her across the face. Michonne is enraged, but Elodie warns her that they need to know their place.

Mercer steps in and scars Sebastian away after he has made his hollow threats. When the group gathers together, Elodie and Stephanie explain that the Commonwealth works on a class system. What you did before the apocalypse determines your status. People are evaluated once a year to try to move up. Magma is outraged by the idea. After a few days of special treatment, the Michonne’s group prepares to escort Pamela to Alexandria. Lance asks Michonne to consider staying behind with her daughter. Sebastian is whining while his mom leaves and she tells him not to cause any trouble while she is gone. Michonne gives Eugene her sword to give to Rick. Eugene is excited about the start of his friendship with Stephanie since they are so like-minded. He mentions that people will need to start having babies to keep their lifestyles sustainable. Princess is excited to finally be going to Alexandria to meet Rick and that she will have options about where she will live in the future. After a few days, they arrive at Alexandria. Eugene is able to space out the massive number of walking troops so they get get ahead and give Rick a heads up.

Lance Shows Michonne her new apartment and says Elodie can help her with her law office rather than working at the bakery. Michonne thinks it is too good to be true. Dwight apologizes to Laura. He knows his negativity is not a good quality. He asks her to go with him while he apologizes to Rick. They hear the arrival of Eugene and the others and has Laura help him round up the army to be on the safe side. When they arrive, Pamela gives Eugene leave to warn Rick. Rick greets Pamela and Dwight shows up wit the militia. Rick has a few of Dwights men escort Mercer to meet the rest of the Commonwealth platoon to have them staged at the watch tower rather than in Alexandria. He offers Pamela a tour and she decides to go with him alone. As they talk, Pamela is not impressed with Rick’s idealistic view on equality. She believes people need the world to be like it was before while he thinks it needs to change for the new world.

VOLUME 31 (#181-186)Pamela is impressed with the view of the Ocean as Rick shows her around. Michonne tells Elodie she has decided to stay and become a lawyer for the Commonwealth. She has some time to get reacquainted with the processes and has time for a trip. Carl introduces himself to Joshua, a new kid whose family was traveling with the Whisperers. They were too scared to leave them. Maggie talks with Jesus and Aaron about the new family. They believe they are good people and are letting them stay. Jesus tells Maggie that Rick has requested for Carl to come to Alexandria for a visit along with a list of what the Hilltop needs. Maggie agrees and asks if they are sure Beta is dead. They agree if there are any whisperers left, they are not a threat. Princess thanks Rick for allowing her to come along on the tour of the surrounding areas of Alexandria and the boat. Dwight points out a horde of zombies in their path. Rick decides they will have to drive the herd away from Oceanside and enlists the help of Mercer and the guards. Princess is a bit nervous, but Mercer tells her to stick with him. Pamela decides to break off and causes issues. Princess gets surrounded and falls off her horse. Mercer jumps in to save her, but there are too many. A guard goes in depending on his armor to protect him from bites. Laura comes with reinforcements to clear our the zombies. Once they survive, Princess kisses Mercer. Rick is not happy that Dwight pulled people off of lookout duty to follow them thinking the entire situation could have been avoided entirely. Pamela comes out of her carriage to give praise to Mercer. He was expecting an apology for what she did to make things worse. She wanted to show off Mercer’s abilities.

At the Sanctuary, John is teaching Christopher about growing crops. When Christopher complains about not liking tomatoes, John gives him a speech about how life is about need rather than want. The more they can produce over their need, the more they have to trade, and the better life will become. Rick and Governor Pamela arrive and talk to John about the communities needing each other in order to take back the country. She is not impressed with the Sanctuary and asks Rick about Negan. They go to the Kingdom next. The next day, they go to the Hilltop. The rebuilding process is much further along than expected. Rick is able to spend some time with Carl, who apologizes for leaving Alexandria. Rick admits he needed the alone time. Maggie is suspicious of Pamela, but says she will trust Rick’s opinion. Eugene gets the Commonwealth soldiers into wagons to speed up their trip. Rick rides with Pamela in her carriage. She wants to make the collection of communities a part of the Commonwealth. Rick isn’t quite convinced it isn’t their way of thinking that needs to be brought around.

Elodie is excited to be taking advantage of Michonne’s perks. A soldier named Jerome is escorting them to Greenville when they are attacked by a few zombies. Jerome gets off his horse to take care of them, but quickly becomes overwhelmed. Michonne goes to help and ends up saving him. When they arrive in Greenville, Elodie expects they will stay in a hostile, but are offered a large cabin on the lake. They enjoy their stay. A woman named Cloris brings them a bag of food for their return trip and is upset when Michonne gives it to a hungry family that can’t afford food. They return with a new guard. On the way, They see a crowd gathering because the guards are beating someone, Anthony Keith, that supposedly assaulted officers. Michonne stops the guards. Later at home Lance comes to tell Michonne the beaten man is in bad shape. Lance tells Michonne she is going to defend the officers in the case against Anthony. Defending the officers is not sitting well with Michonne. Lance comes to tell her Anthony has died. The public is giving her guff for defending the officers and a riot breaks out. Jerome helps Michonne and Elodie escape the law office. Rick and Governor Pamela arrive to fire and chaos in the Commonwealth.

Michonne and Elodie try to get out of the riot, but they see Jerome being attacked by an angry mob. Michonne promises to save him and tells Elodie to run, but Elodie tries to stop the people from hurting him. Michonne jumps in to help Jerome and her daughter and the crowd turns on them. Jerome uses himself to shield Michonne. Mercer arrives and breaks up the crowd with his guards. Pamela tells them they need to let her govern rather than turning violent. Michonne has some bruises and bumps from the riot, but still gives her statement in court. She asks the judge to drop the charges against the guards that killed the man in order to let the community go on in trust and goodness. Later, Rick asks if Michonne believes in her own words. She partially does. Having Elodie back is very important to her and she values having a community that feels like the zombies never came. Eugene and Stephanie take a look at a train. Eugene wants to restore it to give quicker and safer transportation between communities. Pamela scolds Lance for letting things get out of hand while she was away. She is disgusted that Rick is helping clean up the streets after the riot. He asks if she has better things to do and she starts helping as well. Dante is disgusted that the citizens of the Commonwealth are eating at a restaurant rather than helping clean up their streets. Laura makes a comment about cleaning the people up afterwards. Mercer and Princess sleep together and decide it is not just a casual fling. A couple of people approach Rick impressed with how he has been helping. They ask if there is room for them in Alexandria and Rick tells them it isn’t as nice as the Commonwealth. Dwight asks Rick to leave him at the Commonwealth to save them. Rick denies his request.

Dwight wants to go back for his army to take over the Commonwealth. Rick says no and is disappointed that Dwight hasn’t learned anything from their previous wars. Carl is a little worried about his Dad, but Lydia is sleeping and doesn’t hear him talking. Carl starts to go back to his own room and runs into Sophia. She complains about not having anyone to have sex with and Carl tries to recommend people. Yumika finds Magma on a watch shift at Alexandria. Magma is wondering when the next war is going to start because the Commonwealth is completely rotten and she knows Rick will see through the glitter of it. Rick eats at a restaurant with Michonne and Elodie. He is overcome with emotion wishing Andrea could have seen the peacefulness of the Commonwealth. Eugene is impressed with the condition the train is in. Stephanie gets excited and kisses him. Pamela reprimands Lance and demands increasing the number of guards on patrol to remind the citizens they are in control. Rick comes in and Lance leaves. Pamela asks him if he is okay because the rumor of his crying at breakfast with Michonne has spread to her. He explains he was just sad his wife didn’t survive long enough to see the Commonwealth. Pamela sympathizes; her daughter didn’t make it either. Dwight goes out into the streets and picks a verbal fight with a guard to cause a scene. He is happy that the people are upset with the guards, but ends up surrendering. Rick comes to visit Dwight in jail. He explains he knows that the way the Commonwealth does things is wrong, but starting a war isn’t the way to fix things. Dwight is making everything worse. Mercer overhears the conversation and tells Rick the Commonwealth needs him as their leader.

A boy new to the Hilltop asks to sit with Sophia to eat. Carl smiles at her, but Sophia rolls her eyes. Eugene wakes up to Stephanie pinning her wig back in place. He thinks she is beautiful without it, but she wears it to make herself feel better and insists he leaves the room while she gets it reattached. Rick tells Michonne about Dwights actions and Mercer’s words. Michonne knows the Commonwealth needs change, but points out they need Rick’s mind, not his guns. Elodie’s friends are worried she has switched side since she has found her mom. Magma warns Heath that something might be coming. She doesn’t want Alexandria worried, but ready. Rick and Dwight meet with Michonne. She is glad to hear that Rick wants to solve the issues reasonably and Pamela allows herself in with her guards. Michonne is upset that Pamela brought guards. Dwight is upset Pamela is there. He knows she will never relinquish her power and holds his gun to her head. Rick shoots Dwight in the head. Pamela thanks Rick. Laura mourns Dwight. Rick is furious with Michonne for backing him into a corner rather than trusting him not to be pushed to violence. Michonne thinks Rick just avoided a war. Rick wonders if he joined the wrong side of one.

VOLUME 32 (#187-193)

Governor Pam address the Commonwealth to explain there was an assassination attempt and Rick saved her life. She introduces him and he tells them he is looking to help find the peaceful solution to their issues. Mercer goes home to find Princess has broken into his apartment to get her stuff. She doesn’t want to be there when things get bad. Before the zombies, her mother remarried a man with a grown son. Princess would act out and they would lock her in a closet and beat her. She has to keep a positive attitude and she can’t do it with everything falling apart around her, so she is leaving. Magma asks Siddiq to go to the Hilltop and grab a few people to go to the Commonwealth with him to check on Rick. He agrees and leaves right away. Sophia is walking around with the new kid, Josh, and they are sharing their life stories. Carl is happy to see Sophia enjoying herself, but Lydia gets jealous. Carl tries to reassure her that Sophia is just a friend. He wants to be with Lydia because she is like him - a monster. Lydia is upset that he calls her that and storms off. Mercer goes out to blow off steam by killing zombies. Laura joins him and suggests they are frustrated about the same things. Michonne finds Rick at a table at a coffee shop and apologizes. She points out that Dwight has a history of pulling guns on leadership and that his death was inevitable. Rick apologizes as well. They both agree they want to help fix the Commonwealth without ruining it. Siddiq arrives at the Hilltop, but the guards have gotten too relaxed from all the quiet they’ve had lately and almost don’t hear him coming. Once inside the Hilltop, Siddiq talks to Maggie. She agrees it is odd Rick has been gone so long with no word. Jesus, Aaron, and Dante all agree to go with him. They plan to check it out from a distance. As they are getting ready to leave, Carl comes up and is ready to go. He refuses to not go if his dad might be in trouble. He is able to explain himself to Lydia - she helped him get past his injury and act normal again. She understands and is glad they help each other. Mercer talks to the other guards in the locker room. He points out they are all frustrated with Governor Pam and the other high ranking officials. He says they can peacefully change the leadership because they hold the power. Lance walks in during the speech.

Mercer is hoping for backup from the other guards, but he doesn’t get their support. George just turns away from him. Maggie has a bad feeling about the Commonwealth, but she couldn’t leave Hershel long enough to go with the men she sent to check out the situation. She admits to Brianna she isn’t sure if she should have sent an entire army. Brianna tells her to go with her gut. Jesus’ group runs into Princess on their way to the Commonwealth, but she runs away from them. Jesus chases after her, but runs into a horde of zombies. Carl rushes in to save him. Princess saves them both, but they lose two horses. She shows them where they can hide while Aaron and Dante drive the zombies away. Governor Pam goes to visit Mercer in jail. He is furious that she constantly used him and risked his life to be a queen. He doesn’t want her son to take over the Commonwealth. Eugene is working on the train engine when Stephanie tells him the guards are being sent back to the Commonwealth because of Mercer’s attempted mutiny. Rick goes to Michonne to tell her about Mercer being put into jail. She already knows the Commonwealth is splitting into two sides. He knows their presence is fueling the fire because there were no other options for leadership before they arrived. He knows Laura is egging on the revolution. The guards start pressuring George to join Mercer’s side. He leaves and is confronted by Laura. Princess tells Jesus and Carl that things are escalating at the Commonwealth. She tells them she left because people are dangerous. Carl points out how she saved them. She agrees to go back to the Commonwealth with them. Meanwhile, a group of zombies are sneaking up on Eugene and Stephanie as they work on the train.

Eugene and Stephanie hear the zombies in time to get into the train engine. Stephanie thinks they will die in there, but Eugene is determined to have both of them survive. Laura visits Mercer’s cell to tell him to stand away from the back wall. George blows out the wall and it is heard around town as they escape. Rick goes to Pamela to get her out before the revolutionaries kill her. She is joined by her assistant, Maxwell and her son, Sebastian. Sebastian makes a big deal about having to listen to Rick, who explains if they don’t get out, they will be killed. On the way out of town, they run into Jesus, Aaron, and the rest of their party. Rick immediately asks Jesus and Aaron to take Pamela, Maxwell,, and Sebastian to their safe place in Greenville. Eugene uses a fire extinguisher to draw the zombies’ attention away from them. He tells Stephanie he has been in similar situations and that they will be fine as long as they are quiet and quick. They clear the zombies and start to run. Rick and Carl are glad to be reunited. Carl asks what he can do to help and Ricks says he’ll know when he time comes. Lance is found and brought to Mercer, but the crowd is upset that they seem to be staging a coup. Rick points out they are making things worse. Mercer says he needs Rick’s help and hopes the people will choose Rick over Pamela.

Rick tries to tell Mercer taking over the Commonwealth will take more time for the people to trust him, but Mercer knows they are in the middle of a revolution and don’t have time. Eugene and Stephanie look over the Commonwealth and she knows the people have had enough of the rules Pamela has put in place. A guard lets Michonne continue the search for her daughter even though they are trying to clear out the streets. Elodie and her friends are getting ready to fight with guns. Michonne tells them she is not willing to lose any of them over this and takes the gun. She tells them to stay there until they hear from her. Eugene and Stephanie have a zombie horde behind them heading towards the Commonwealth. The commotion in the city has drawn the undead there and they need to warn the people inside. Lance is brought in by the guards. Rick tries to convince Mercer to end the revolution peacefully so they can do things properly. Eugene and Stephanie arrive to tell Rick and Mercer about the herd outside the city. Pamela pulled all the lookouts into the city to stop riots. Michonne runs into Carl, Siddiq (?), Princess, and Jesus. They all meet up with Rick and he tells them the herd is coming. Michonne says she has to get back to Elodie. Mercer sends an escort with her as they clear the streets.

Rick and his group are inside and he reminds them to keep quiet so the zombies don’t know they are there. Maggie arrives with her army to lure the zombies away from the Commonwealth. Magma plans to keep her girlfriend close to clear out the straggling zombies from the city streets. Lance is impressed at how the herd is leaving, but Rick scolds him for endangering them all by standing at the window and gawking. Rick decides once the threat is gone, they will bring Pamela back to talk. When the stragglers have thinned out enough, Mercer gets his men ready to clean up the streets. Rick and his people go out after. Michonne leads Elodie’s group through how to clear out the remaining zombies quickly. Rick welcomes his people to the Commonwealth. Pamela arrives to see Rick’s people are there and thinks they are plotting behind her back. Rick tries to reason with her, but she sends the army of Greenville to attack.

Pamela tries to send her army after Rick’s people, but they don’t move. Rick knows she can be reasonable and asks her to reconsider. Rick sees the Commonwealth as a place of hope, but it is contaminated with fear and hate. He explains he thought they would never be able to go back to the way things were, but he now sees they have already started moving that way. They have a possibility to live their lives and be happy. He wants to build a better world rather than just defaulting back to the way things were. He doesn’t want a few elite ruling the rest of the population. They agree. Mercer arrests Pamela. Sebastian tries to tell everyone they won’t survive without them, but Pamela tells him be quiet. Mercer is impressed with how quickly the Commonwealth is cleaned up when they all work together. Rick goes to visit Pamela. She starts blaming him for taking over, but realizes things got out of hand. She thinks he is naive for thinking people will except a new way of figuring out who gets what. Michonne tells Rick their are candidates lining up to run the Commonwealth, but he is the frontrunner. He doesn’t plan to run and wants to return to Alexandria. Carl asks Rick how he always seems to be able to predict the future and know the right thing to do. Rick tells everyone makes mistakes, but the good needs to outweigh the bad. Carl gets to where he is staying and Rick goes to where he is staying. Rick is woken up by Sebastian pointing a gun at him. Rick tries to talk him out of it, but Sebastian is worked up over losing his position of power. He kills Rick. Carl goes to get his dad for breakfast in the morning and finds Zombi Rick. The guards come and send for Michonne. Carl admits to Michonne that he is afraid to live without his dad. Carl goes to talk to Pamela. She tells him that it was her son, Sebastian that murdered Rick. Carl is okay with him staying in jail for the rest of his life. He expresses his sympathy for what Pamela is going through. Michonne warns her that she will not allow Pam to slip back into power because Rick died. Carl goes to visit Sebastian, who is only sad about losing his way of life. Carl thinks Rick would have wanted Sebastian to live in the cell. Carl tells Sebastian if he ever gets out, he will hurt him before returning him his cell. Carl packs up Rick to get him buried next to Andrea. The rest of his people want to go with him to pay their respects and Michonne wants to ride with Carl. On the way back, Carl breaks down with grief.

Years later, Carl kills a zombi with a sword. Sofia comes running out worried about how close he was to it. He is worried Andrea (their daughter) saw what happened, but Sophia assures him she is still asleep. Carl is concerned that a zombie got so far into the safe zone. Carl goes into town and finds Hershel with a cart labelled “the walking dead” and offers to get Carl into the show. Carl punches him in the face. Hershel is relieved Carl was the one to find the zombie, but is furious when he finds out Carl killed it. Carl walks away. Sheriff Kapoor comes by to tell Carl that he should be arrested for destruction of property, but since they’ve been friends so long, he will do what he can to get the charges down to a fine. That night, Carl and Sophia have dinner with their elderly neighbor, Earl. They tell him what happened. They try to convince him to move to town where he can be looked after, but he likes the quiet. Earl points out that Hershel wasn’t raised right because Maggie was too busy with the Hilltop to raise him. Carl and Sophia walk back home. Carl misses his dad, but is also glad he didn’t have to watch him deteriorate with old age. There is a crowd when Carl comes into town for his trial. Each person explains their side, but before the judge can make a decision, President Maggie comes in with a solution that Carl will replace the zombie rather than pay the cost of one to Hershel. Maggie tries to tell Carl they don’t live in the dangerous world he grew up in anymore, but he warns her it will come back if they get too relaxed. He rides off. Sophia warns Maggie that Hershel is turning into the next Sebastian Milton. Andrea and Carl race to Andrea’s school. That night, Carl says he has to go out to clear his head before he leaves. He kills the rest of Hershel’s zombies before leaving town. While picking up supplies, Lydia (with Connor) comes to see what their plan is. On their way to see Jesus and Aaron, Carl leaves supplies for Neagan, who stays hidden. When they camp for the night, Carl agrees to stay in the tent with Lydia. She makes fun of him for keeping his eye patch on. He tries to explain he does it for Andrea so she can live in a better world than they grew up in. The next day, they meet up with Eugene who is working to expand the railroad tracks to meet up with the West. Laura stops by and says she prefers being as far away from civilization as possible because there is less Rick Grimes worship. Carl tells her off and reminds her people are alive because of his dad. Carl goes home and Sophie is angry at him for killing Hershel’s zombies because he will be arrested. The Calvary comes to collect him sooner than he expected. He is put on a train to go to Commonwealth One, where Michonne will be the judge. Carl explains his side of the story and Michonne declares that he is free to go. She is going to start a motion to keep zombies out of the safe areas completely. She is always grateful fo the world they have because of Rick Grimes. Hershel corners Carl to tell him he provided a service to the Commonwealth by reminding them what is beyond the safe zone and storms off. A few kids make fun of Carl’s eye patch, but a girl sets them straight on what Carl had lived through. Carl thinks the statue of his father is a bit over the top, but Sophia thinks it might be what the people need. They go home and Andrea asks for a bedtime story. It is a children’s story about how Rick Grimes saved the world by doing the right thing. When it is over, he tells Andrea she would have really like her grandfather. She asks him to read it again.

It has been months since Percy woke up in the Wolf House without his memory. Lupa sent him south to find what he is looking for. Percy hasn’t slept in day and is on the run from the gorgons, Stheno and Euryale. He has killed them several times, but they keep reforming quickly. Gaea is their patron and allows them out of Tartarus each time they die. However, they have scratch and bit at Percy and they can’t seem to hurt him either. One of them mentions that he has the blessing of Achilles. Someone has dipped him in the River Styx to make him invulnerable. They plan to tear him apart until they find the weak spot. Percy is able to kill Euryale and take the tray Stheno holds. He knows that he needs to get into the mountain he is on, but needs a way to the bottom. He uses the tray to sled down the mountain.

Percy narrowly avoids landing in the middle of traffic that goes through the mountain using a tunnel. There is an ugly, old hippie woman there, June, that wants him to carry her to camp with him. She tells him he can flee to the ocean and live out his days in peace, but he will have to carry her to save the world and his friends and family. Percy doesn’t have his memory, but he knows he has to protect Annabeth. He picks up June and starts carrying her to a door in the mountain that is guarded by two children dressed in Roman armor. Frank, an archer, helps take out one fo the gorgons. The other guard, Hazel stays behind to give them time to escape. They get to the Tiber (river) and Percy is reluctant to cross. June tells him the blessing of Achilles is a Greek blessing and the Tiber will wash it away. Percy can’t let anything happen to Annabeth, so he crosses. Hazel catches up with them and Frank stays this time to hold off the gorgons. Once they reach the doors of the fort, an army of kids comes out. The gorgons fly over to Frank and grab him from the middle of the river. Percy uses his command over water to tear the gorgons off Frank. The water washes them away and doesn’t let them reform. June reveals she is really Juno. A girl, Reyna, that seems like some sort of officer seems to know something when Juno introduces them to Percy Jackson. After Juno takes off, Reyna says she doesn’t know Percy, but he can tell she is lying. He knows better than to question her in front of her campers though. Reyna still isn’t sure if he is friend or foe.

There are house gods all around the camp that Percy mistakes for ghosts. Reyna leads the way with Hazel and Frank following. The campers all stare and one of the gods calls Percy greek. There are a few campers that don’t seem fond of Hazel and Frank either. Reyna takes Percy and Hazel into her office. There are two chairs between two dog statues. Reyna takes one chair. The two dogs, Aurum and Argentum, are real and Reyna tells Percy they don’t like liars as they growl at him. Percy tells her his story and Hazel fills in what she knows. Reyna asks about Percy’s sword (though he doesn’t remember using or mentioning it) and he shows her. She is more suspicious of him since his sword is made of celestial bronze. Her own dagger is made of imperial gold, which is very rare. Reyna notices Percy doesn’t have a tattoo like everyone else from their legion. She asks if he has seen her colleague, Jason (who the second chair belongs to and has been missing for 8 months), but he hasn’t. The Feast of Fortuna (luck goddess) is in five days and that is when Juno told them Gaea would attack. That is also when they would normally vote to replace Jason as praetor. Reyna tells Hazel to take Percy to Octavian.

On their way to meet Octavian, Percy and Hazel are first stopped by a Lare named Vitellius. He is very proud that he has been around since the time of Julius Caesar. Hazel explains they demigods and descendants of demigods are split into cohorts and then battalions of 10. Each is constructed of a balance of descendants of different gods. They hurry along and a saytre begs Percy for money. Hazel shoos him off, but the saytre finds a diamond like rock. Hazel picks it up and sends him off like she just saved his life. When they get to the temples, Percy sees that Neptunes is not well cared for. The Romans fear the sea and Neptune, but don’t love him. Percy leaves his leftover food at the temple and asks his dad for whatever help he can give him. They find Octavian sacrificing stuffed animals in Jupiter’s temple. He takes the stuffed panda pillow from Percy and slices it open to examine the fluff. He says Percy can stay. Percy is a bit unnerved by the pile of sliced up stuffed animals. Octavian says he needs the books of prophecy in order to give better predictions. He has been searching for Jason everyday, but is also campaigning to be his replacement as praetor. He tries to threaten Hazel into voting for him by saying the rumors around camp could get worse. He also tells her that her brother is waiting by her father’s temple. Percy and Hazel leave. She is obviously furious over Octavian’s remarks. She takes Percy to meet her brother, Nico Di Angelo. Nico pretends to not know who Percy is and introduces himself.

Percy seems like he recognizes Nico so Hazel thinks her brother might be able to shed some light on the situation. He signals her to drop it and lies saying he doesn’t know Percy, but promises to talk to Percy about it later since he is staying the night. He explains what has been going on with Gaea awakening and how Camp Jupiter took defeated Saturn (Kronos) on Mount Orthys. He thinks a worse war is coming. Frank comes up to tell them Reyna is looking for Percy. Hazel tries not to have feelings for Frank, but her heart skips a beat every time she sees him. Frank takes Percy to get cleaned up before evening muster. Nico and Hazel sit on the roof of the Pluto (Hades) temple that is covered in bones and diamonds. Hazel is the reason it is covered in diamonds. They tend to show up if she is in one place too long or gets too anxious. The campers know not to take them from the temple though. She has been careful to make sure no one gets them because of her curse. Nico tells her he cannot tell Percy anything; he has to find his own way. She thinks back to December 1947 when she was in New Orleans.

Hazel is swept back to her 13th birthday. She went to a school for African and Native Americans. Her friend Sammy worked in the stables that were for the riding club of white kids. Since the war, the stables hadn’t been used as much and Sammy was able to bring Hazel with him to take care of the horses. They were sometimes able to ride them as well. Sammy and Hazel ride out in the field and split a cupcake for Hazel’s birthday. He kisses her on the check. When she goes home, Hazel hears her mother, Queen Marie, discussing her in two different voices. Hazel is scared and starts to leave. Her father, Pluto meets her at the door and gives her colored pencils for her birthday. He apologizes that her mother never told her why she is cursed (produces gemstones that bring bad fortune), but a son of Neptune will wash it away someday. Pluto goes to her mom and tries to talk her into staying where he can protect her. She refuses and says they are going North to Alaska. Pluto vanishes into thin air, and Queen Marie tells Hazel to pack. When Hazel comes back to the present, Nico tells her she will have to get the visions of her past under control so they don’t end up getting her killed in battle. She is still working on it, but they are getting worse. Nico tells her Percy will be a good alley, but the horns sound to signal it is time for muster.

As Nico and Hazel are running for the dinning hall, Hazel trips over a gold bar. She stops Nico from picking it up and reminds him of her curse. She uses her powers to drive it back into the ground where it came from and they continue on. She makes it into place just before her name is called for roll. Percy Jackson is introduced to the entire Legion and they ask if he has any letters of recommendation. He does not and Hazel is surprised Juno’s words didn’t count. Frank offers to stand for him, but he is not a full member and is not eligible to do so. Hazel stands for him and the rest of the fifth cohort welcomes him. Percy thanks them both for standing for him.

They all gather to eat dinner. Percy sits with Hazel, Frank, Nico, and Dakota (Fifth Cohort Centurion). Percy still gets the feeling that he knows Nico, but Nico changes the subject talking about how he found Hazel in New Orleans and spends most of his time in the Underworld. Hazel knew he was trying to revive his sister, Bianca, but she moved on to a new incarnation of life. Dakota tells the story how Hazel saved his life from a stampede of unicorns. She used her powers to direct the unicorns away using the metal in their horns. Percy asks about the missing Eagle during muster. Hazel explains it was lost in ancient times and quickly recovered. Romans would generally destroy their eagle before they would allow it to be taken. It was lost again before she came to camp. The fifth cohort centurion of the time was told it was in Alaska, but it wasn’t time for it to be found. He went anyway and most of the cohort died. That was when people started to believe they were cursed. Things started to look up with Jason around, but his disappearance enforced the rumors. After dinner, they prepare for the war games to begin. First and Second Cohorts will defend while Third through Fifth attack.

Before muster, Frank polishes armor and thinks about Hazel. While they were standing guard before Percy showed up, they attempted small talk in French, but the lack of knowledge and different dialects between New Orleans and Vancouver were not compatible. On his way down to Camp Jupiter, he used the stick in his pocket from Juno to warm himself. As it burned, it drained his life. He considered using it to warm Hazel and she complained about the cold. As he is wishing Apollo would claim him, the Fifth Cohort Lar, Vitellius comes to tell him that he was claimed through an omen when he turned 16; a chicken ran off with his adult robe signaling he would be in medicine. He knows that Frank took the spoils (two vials of blood; one heals, one kills) from the gorgon’s defeat. He points out it might end his curse or cure Percy’s memory issues, but will likely be needed in the upcoming quest. But Neither know which vial heals and which kills. Reyna comes to tell Frank to fetch Percy. He goes to the temple and starts to lead Percy to the baths. Frank mentions the vials and Percy says he wants to save them for the upcoming battle. Percy asks about the Greeks and Frank admits that the Romans are a bit touchy about it because when the Roman Empire fell, the only part that survived was the east (Greek) side. Percy asks about his mortal parent and Frank tells him his mother was a Captain in the Canadian army and she was killed in Afghanistan. Percy drops the subject and goes to bathe.

Right before his mother’s funeral, Frank took his grandmother’s porcelain collection and set up each piece to use as target practice for his archery. Grandmother didn’t seem too upset by it and brought him inside to give him something. Shorty after Frank was born, Juno came to them and told them Frank’s life would burn out shortly after the piece of firewood was consumed. His life would be short and bright. Grandmother ripped it out of the fire and his mother kept it safe until she left for Afghanistan. She tells him Lupa will be sending messengers for him after the funeral. He will go to camp and learn there. She tells him to privately apologize to the praetor for his great-grandfather. Frank does as he’s told and Reyna tells him not to mention the name around camp because it will make people hate him. In the present, the War Games are starting. The First and Second Cohorts have built a new fort and the Third and Fourth are planning to attack after the Fifth wears them down. Dakota and Gwen divide the Cohort up amongst themselves for attacking different sections of the wall. Gwen tells Hazel and Frank to do what they need to do to show Percy the ropes. Frank gets an idea that Percy can control the water canons. Percy isn’t positive he can always control water, but agrees to try. Frank suggests Hazel use her power to find them a tunnel to get them close. She is a bit upset that he shared her secret with Percy, but agrees to the plan.

Frank and Percy start fighting their way through the guards and Hazel gets on the elephant, Hannibal, to get to the banners. Inside, the First and Second Cohorts are not prepared for an invasion - they are playing a game. Frank and Percy are able to grab the banners and get on Hannibal’s back with Hazel to depart the fort. Reyna calls the end of the war game. Gwen is brought out on a stretcher with a pilum through her chest. The medics try to save her, but she is dead. Suddenly, she gasps for air and is alive again. Frank has Hazel and Percy help him remove the pilum from Gwen’s chest. Frank notices Octavian doesn’t have a pilum. Some question if Nico has anything to do with Gwen coming back to life, but he denies any involvement. Mars appears and tells them Death needs to be rescued in order for the dead to stay dead. Percy is not happy to see him and knows they have fought in the past. Mars tells them they will need to go to Alaska, rescue Thanatos (Death), and return to camp before sundown on the 24th (Feast of Fortuna). He then claims Frank as his son and tells everyone that Frank will lead the quest. He tells him he has to take Percy with him and can chose his third person. Lightning shoots across the sky and Mars knows he is out of time and leaves. Frank is sorely disappointed that Mars is his father.

That night, Percy falls asleep instantly. He dreams of Grover and Annabeth. They tell him Tyson is looking for him and to stay where he is. Gaea appears and says Percy will be her pawn. When he wakes up, Frank tells him they only have time for a quick breakfast before the senate meeting they must attend. When they get to the city, a statue of Terminus, the border god, tell them what they need to know in. He makes Percy hand over his pen/sword to his assistant Julia (six year old who lives in the city). As they walk down the street, Percy thinks of what it would be like to live somewhere safe like this with Annabeth in the future, but knows it isn’t where they belong. They catch up with the senators that are entering a big white building.

14 In the Senate House, the meeting starts out with people not being happy about who was chosen to go on the quest. Frank is promoted to centurion as that is the level required to lead a quest. Octavian makes it clear it was Renya’s choice and he doesn’t agree with it. When asked if they have a plan, Hazel points out Mars told them to go to Alaska. The idea makes the Romans uncomfortable because it is a land where the Roman gods don’t have any power. When Gaea created the giants, she created each one to rival a specific god. The eldest, Alcyoneus, was Plutos. The giant now holds Pluto’s lieutenant, Thanatos (guards the gates of the underworld to prevent the dead from returning). They have to free him to prevent the fall of Camp Jupiter. Octavian points out if they fail, it will be up to the camp to protect Rome. Frank is furious, but Percy agrees to it. However, he knows they need to get up to Alaska quickly since they only have four days. He asks for a boat and Reyna agrees. The Senate agrees to this and excuses Frank and his companions. As they are walking away, Octavian stops them to tell Percy Reyna wants to meet with him later. He points out the last private talk she had was with Jason Grace, who disappeared.

15 Percy meets Reyna in the principia. She tells him Octavian saw an army coming towards the camp led by a giant. They do not think Alcyoneus would leave would leave Alaska as long as he is not vulnerable there. They agree it is most likely a second giant. Lupa is trying to slow them down, but is not fairing well. Reyna lived in a spa with her sister Hylla, who still hates Percy for destroying their home. Reyna gives Percy her ring as a token to take to Hylla in Seattle for help. She doesn’t know if her sister will help, but thinks it is worth trying. Reyna needs another praetor to help her lead. She wants Percy to take Jason’s place. Percy asks if she and Jason were together. She explains praetors work closely together and it can turn romantic. Percy lets her know that he has a girlfriend and isn’t seeking power. She points out his attitude is not very Roman. She asks him to think about it while he is on his mission. Percy apologizes for any pain he might have caused Reyna when he destroyed her home.

16 Percy packs the few belongings he has for the quest. He leaves his orange t-shirt on his bed and says he will be back for it. Everyone is quiet at lunch and afterwards, a guy named Bobby takes them to the boarder on Hannibal. Terminus is there to check them over before they leave and gives them directions to where the Roman Navy ship is kept. It takes them some time to get there and they are disappointed in the little row boat they find. Percy uses his control over water to clean it up and tells them it will work for their purposes. He controls it himself, but gets a bit worried when he hears Gaea’s voice in his head telling him he should have taken to the sea to escape her rather than go on the quest. Percy tells her to get out of his head and steers them towards the Golden Gate Bridge.

17 Hazel is nauseous in the row boat as they make their way past Mount Tam. She tells them that is where Jason defeated Krios, a Titan. Percy seems familiar with the experience. Hazel spoke to Nico before they left. He plans to return to the Underworld to help their father and look for the Doors of Death. Hazel is impressed with Frank’s new-found leadership abilities, but knows she can’t act on them. Thinking about her first death makes her black out. She is in Alaska where her mother works as a waitress by day. Most nights, Gaea takes over Marie and the mother and daughter row out to an island where Hazel must bring the treasures of the Earth. One night, a raven tells her it is her last night. When they get inside the cave, Marie is no longer under Gaea’s control. She explains how Hazel came to be cursed. When Hazel was born, Hades was pleased and gave Marie one wish. She was tired of being poor and wished for all of Hades riches. He warned her that greedy wishes reap sorrow, but she insisted. Marie apologizes to Hazel for being weak once again and listening to Gaea. She plans to sacrifice herself to raise Alcyoneus because Gaea promised Hazel’s safety. Hazel sacrifices her mother and herself to prevent the giant from awakening right then. Marie is proud of her daughter as the cave filled with metals, gems, and oil.

Hazel wakes up and they are on land about 150 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. They boys were worried because they weren’t able to wake her up. She decides her companions deserve to know the truth about her. She asks for water and Percy goes to the boat to get her some. Frank has already guessed that Hazel is from the underworld from the way she talks like she lived a long time ago. Hazel is relieved because he doesn’t look at her any differently. Frank admits he has a secret too, but he doesn’t have time to reveal it. He notices the wind stopped, but the grass is still moving. It comes at them like a wave and grabs Hazel.

19 Hazel is being carried away by the grass and searches for some treasure in the ground to anchor herself to. Eventually, she finds something large and concentrates on it. Once the large rock is out of the ground, she is able to get on top of it. Gnome-like monsters form out of the different grains. They have been promised freedom from humans for helping Gaea, who has special torture planned for Hazel. Hazel tries to trick them into telling her where Alcyoneus is located in Alaska, but they will not tell her. She keeps them talking and tries to keep her voice loud to help her friends find her. When the grains have finally had enough, they start climbing the rock to get her. An arrow goes through the chest of Wheat and turns him into Chex Mix.

20 As the grain monsters start to reform, Percy warns them to stay dead. The three heroes stand on top of the rock and can see an army of monsters with the giant Polybotes at the end of the line. Percy is confused why there are centaurs and cyclopses with them; he remembers them being good. Hazel says they have always been taught they are bad. A few of the Cyclopes are the ones Jason, Leo, and Piper fought and this gives Hazel hope that Jason is still alive. There is a convenience store on top of a hill some of the cyclopses try to get into for food, but it is owned by a goddess. She uses a rainbow of light to keep them out. Polybotes says they are already behind and don’t have time to deal with the goddess. He can smell Percy, but one of the cyclopses convinces him it is only because the sea is near and they don’t have time to look for Neptune there. He takes three large, white snakes from his hair and leaves them there to attack the goddess. They march on, but Percy is left shivering. Hazel and Frank agree they won’t be able to get him back to the sea, but the convenience store might be their only chance for help.

21 As the three heroes make a dash for the convenience store, Frank can hear the snakes behind them. He fires a flare arrow at them and can see they breath fire and kill the grass beneath them. One gets close and he hits it with his bow, which disintegrates. They hurry inside. A cloud nymph named Fleecy takes them to Iris. The rainbow goddess sprays some stuff around Percy to help him with his memory sickness. Percy asks to send an Irish message and Iris agrees to have Fleecy do it for her (as she has been doing most of the messaging for the goddess lately). Iris pulls Frank aside to talk to him.

22 Iris shows Frank images of his past. His mother saving him from a mother bear that needed directions, telling him about his ancestors (Xu Fu and Sung Guo), and telling him they are from Li-Jien. Iris points out that Frank must be important and talented for Juno to have saved him as a baby by pulling the piece of wood out of the fire. She tells Frank that his life is more precious because it could be short. She tells him to do what he wants to and offers him a job at her store. She tells him to seek out Phineas (a blind man that can see past/present/future) in Portland Oregon to find out where Thanatos is in Alaska. Iris tells him he will have to use the spear his father gave him to defeat the basilisks outside. On his way out, she tells him she saw him dying while holding the stick. She suggests he find a demigod he trusts to hold onto it for him. He trusts Hazel enough for this task, but doesn’t know how to explain it.

Frank hopes that he has some hidden powers that he doesn’t know about as he goes out to fight the basilisks with just the spear his father gave him. He goes after one of the snakes in the dark only to find out he has become surrounded by them.

The tip of Frank’s spear feels like it is drawn to the ground. He thinks he remembers something about the dragon tooth being put into the ground and drives it in. A skeletal figure, Grey, appears and waits for his orders. Frank tells it to kill the three basilisks and it does. It decapitates them and then spreads the remaining ashes. Afterwards, Grey disappears and the dragon tooth reappears in the spear. Frank remembers Mars told him he only had three charges. He will have to figure out his mother’s gift to prevent using it anymore. Frank fears that Grey is evil and could end up attacking him or his friends. Percy and Hazel run up to him with weapons drawn, but the fight is already over. Frank promises to explain later.

25 Percy was given a satchel of supplies from Iris they take with them as they take off for Portland. Percy is too tired to continue steering so he asks a killer whale for a lift. It agrees and Percy makes a harness. Frank and Hazel take turns keeping watch. Percy first dreams about fighting in the Titan War. He then sees Leo working on the ship in a hurry to help Camp Jupiter. Lastly, he sees ice and the Eagle. Gaea telling him his friends will die. When he wakes up, they are in Portland. A couple of sturgeons took over pulling the boat to help get them further inland. Once they left, the boat seemed to steer itself. They end up in front of a house and Percy hopes it is where Phineas is.

26 As they wander through the rain, they hear a man yelling at chickens and know it must be Phineas. They find themselves in the middle of several food trucks and follow his yells. They find him at a table hind the trucks with a large pile of food in front of him and using a weed waker to fend off starving harpies. Percy yells for Phineas to stop attacking the harpies, but it scares the bird women and they fly off into the trees. Phineas tells them Gaea is his patron. After years of being cursed by Jupiter and unable to eat food, he is bitter against the gods. A group of Romans made it so he can eat again while the harpies starve because they can only eat his food. He tells Percy he will tell them where Thanatos is being kept if they tie up the quicker, smarter harpy for him. The three heroes don’t want to help him, but know they need his information.

Percy grabs a few food items from Phineas’ table and leads Hazel and Frank towards the red feathered harpy. He lures her down from the sky with the smell of food and she wants the cinnamon roll burrito. However, as soon as she gets it, the other harpies attack her and take it away. Percy tries to explain they want to help her and be friends. She starts reciting part of a She tells them her name is Ella and recites part of a prophecy Percy has the feeling is about him. When Hazel mentions Phineas’ name, Ella flies away. They go though a library to get to its roof and find she has a shelter made from books. She has memorized every book she has read. She tells them Phineas cannot see small things and they should challenge him to a game of chance. Percy and Frank realize they will need to use the vials of gorgon blood.

Phineas writes down the location of Alcyoneus’s base on a napkin and puts it in his robe pocket. Percy and Phineas sit opposite each other at the picnic table. Both Frank and Hazel swear on the River Styx they will not seek revenge on the blind seer if Percy dies. The old man takes both vials and tries to examine them for a difference. He lays them on the table and expects Gaea to help him choose the correct one. She rattles one vial more than the other and that is the one he chooses. They both drink and Percy doubles over in pain. However, it is Phineas that dies and becomes ash. Percy doesn’t feel like he has been healed and doesn’t have his memories back. Gaea tells him in his head that what he did was risky, but she does need Percy more than Phineas, so she chose to save him. They get the napkin from Phineas pocket and see the … Glacier is where they need to go. Hazel knows it and says they have a long way to go.

Hazel tells Percy and Frank her story as they continue North in the Pax with Ella. Towards the end, she feels herself slipping into a flashback and takes Frank with her. He is able to watch as the fates sentence how she will spend eternity. She was granted Elysium, but her mother was headed for Punishment. Hazel bargain with them and arranged for both her mother and her to go to the Fields of Asphodel. Once there, most people just exist, not remembering or feeling anything. Since Hazel is a daughter of Pluto, she retains her memories and feelings. While they are stuck standing there in the fields, Frank tells Hazel about his lifeline stick. He asks her to hold it for him and she takes it. When they come back to the present, Ella tells them Hazel won’t black out anymore because she shared. They arrive in Seattle.

Ella tells her new friends she will rejoin them later and flies off. As they dock, the Pax falls apart. They search the city for the Amazon warriors and eventually find the company Amazon. They decide to go in and find out it is actually the headquarters for the Amazons. They are taken to Queen Hylla, who instantly recognizes Percy as the one who destroyed Circe’s school of magic and her home. Hazel points out the ring Percy has from Reyna. The previous queen, Otrera, has come back from the dead and is looking to reclaim her power. She wants Hylla to kill their guests, but Hylla insists on getting the entire story from Hazel first. She send everyone out except Hazel. Otrera calls any women to her that are interested in learning about Gaea. Once they are alone, Hylla explains she will most likely be dead by that night.

Otrera was the original queen of the Amazons. Gaea brought her back to take back power and march against the Romans at Camp Jupiter with the Giant’s army. Hylla explains that any member of the Amazons has the right to challenge her and become queen in a fight to the death. If Otrera loses, Gaea can bring her back to life to challenge Hylla again. Hylla isn’t sure how many nights in a row she will be able to survive fighting Otrera. Hazel notices Arion, a horse she saw and chased in her old life, in a cage. Many Amazons have tried to tame him and one girl lost her arm trying to feed him. Hylla mentions that he prefers to eat gold and Hazel summons a chunk from the ground for him. He eats from her hand. Hylla thinks Hazel might be part of a prophecy that predicts prosperity for the Amazons. She sends Hazel with her loyal guard Kinzie to the jail cell. Hylla warns her not to be around the cells if there is a jail break.

When they get to the jail cells, Hazel realizes they are surrounded by jewelry. She acts sick to get Otrera’s guards towards her. After Kinzie leaves, she is able to take two out with silver bracelets. The third guard runs away. Hazel takes their Amazon cards and uses them to free Percy and Frank. They make their way back towards the throne room to recover Arion. On the way, those loyal to Hylla let them pass easily. Hazel uses the card to free Arion, but they know they can’t all ride him at once. The horse (also a son of Neptune) tells Percy there is a chariot they can use. Hazel rides Arion while Percy and Frank follow. When they get to the chariot, Percy quickly hooks it up to Arion and they take off. They dodge attacks and make it outside. Hazel calls for Ella, who joins Percy and Frank on the chariot. Arion takes off, breaking the sound barrier.

Arion runs until the chariot starts to fall apart. Frank yells up to Hazel, who is able to stop the horse. They are in Canada. Arion is hungry, but Hazel cannot sense any gold around them. She tells the horse to go graze and that she will find some for him soon. She and Percy salvage what supplies they can from the chariot, which had some Amazon packages in the front of it. Frank notices they are close to his grandmother’s house. Hazel and Percy ask him to return, though Frank is not sure how welcomed they will be. By the time they make their way near the house, they find a campfire surrounded by ogres. They can see several others nearby and figure the house is most likely surrounded. Frank uses his second dragon tooth to summon Grey again. He meant for for the skeletal warrior to create a distraction, but Grey kills the six ogres at the nearby campfire and sinks back into the ground. They now have a path to the house.

Once inside, Frank is worried from the state of the house. He notices his grandmother’s usually clean porcelain is covered in dust. He makes his way upstairs to her room with his friends. When he gets there, his grandmother is frail looking and sleeping in her bed. Mars is at her bedside, but only Frank can see him. Frank sends his friends off to get some sleep while he talks to Mars. The war god tells him to think about the stories his family has always told him. One of his ancestors was the son of Poseidon, who was given the family gift. The Romans were defeated in a battle to the east and 15 thousand were taken prisoners. When that civilization found themselves in a battle with the Chinese, the Romans were once again taken prisoners in Li Jien, where his mother said is their homeland. He needs to figure out his family gift quickly if he is going to survive. Every demigod has a fatal flaw; Percy Jackson’s is his loyalty to his friends. Frank’s sense of duty will allow him to make a decision that Percy will not be able to. Frank realizes that he is one of the seven demigods of the prophecy.

In the morning, Frank wakes up on the floor. Hazel brought him a pillow and blanket and breakfast. His grandmother tells him to make her his girlfriend because he needs strong women in his life. She asks if Frank has figured out the family secret. He starts going over their family history. His grandmother confirms that his great grandfather did not do anything wrong, but in his day, he was outcast for being Chinese. Frank continues the history and asks if his mother’s telling him that he can be anything was literal. His grandmother confirms it, but can’t tell him how to use the ability, just that it is easier in times of need. She has arranged for a pilot to take them north from a nearby landing strip. She sends Frank to the attic to get weapons and meet up with his friends. The ogres are preparing to attack.

Frank finds Ella in the attic reading old scrolls. She mentions a piece of prophecy that the sone of Poseidon will drown in Alaska. On the roof, He finds Percy and Hazel. The ogres call out to him, ready to eat him for breakfast. He tells his friends to get Ella to the car in the garage and to get ready to leave. Frank stays on the roof and does his best to keep their focus on him. He attempts to use his family gift to turn himself into a dragon, but it doesn’t work. When the monsters start to get impatient, he goes down to the attack and uses a potato launcher to fire spuds at them. The starch is highly affective against the ogres. He grabs a new bow and bag of mixed arrows. He uses them to fight off the ogres and get to the Cadillac just as Percy is getting ready to get them out of the garage. Frank jumps into the back seat with Hazel and they take off. When they reach the airfield, Frank sends his friends ahead while he shoots different types of arrows at the ogres. Ella refuses to get into the plane. Percy tells her to stay in the area and he will send a friend to help her. Once the three heroes are inside, the pilot takes off.

Percy isn’t thrilled about being in a plane, but he knows it is necessary. His memories have been coming back slowly since drinking the gorgon blood. He tells his new friends that his is from the Greek camp, Camp Half-blood. They all realize that Juno is trying to unite them to stop Gaea, but Octavian will declare war if the Greeks arrive at Camp Jupiter in a war ship. He needs to get into contact with his friends in order to send help for Ella. There is a couch and Percy goes to sleep. He dreams of Tyson at the burned down Zhang mansion. He tells his half brother about Ella and to protect her. Tyson gets the message and takes off. Next, Percy dreams about Polybotes looking down at camp Jupiter. Ms. Gasket and her cyclopses have made a stop for a winery tour and will be joining them the next day. Polybotes is willing to wait for the Feast of Fortuna to attack. Percy wakes up as the plane is starting to land.

The three heroes stop at a diner for food. Hazel marvels at how much Anchorage has changed since she was last there seventy years ago. All around are blue giants called hyperboreans. They are peaceful and don’t seem to take notice of the people. The mortals don’t see them at all. Percy finds a payphone and calls his mom’s apartment. He gets voicemail and leaves her message letting her know he is on a quest and will return when he can. The heroes get on a train and start heading to Seward. Percy is less worried about the prophecy that says he will drown and more worried about the one that says a daughter of Athena will burn through Rome. They are on the top of a double decker train car and take in the scenery along the way. When a group of people start marveling at large eagles, Frank points out they aren’t eagles at all, but large monsters. They fly at the car and the train jumps the tracks.

As the monsters get close, the heroes can see they are gryphons. One takes Percy by the arms and takes off flying. Percy isn’t able to get free, but Frank is able to shoot it down with an arrow. Percy falls to the ground and is okay. They end up at the pack’s nest, which has gold objects all over the place. Hazel creates a distraction using the gold (which includes the gryphons’s eggs) and they make a run for a hyperborean in the distance. They hid under its leg and the gryphons start swooping around it. It uses its breath to freeze the gryphons. Percy and his friends sneak away while they can.

When they arrive at Seward, Hazel is surprised at the size of the town. Before she can warn him, Percy falls into mud that acts like quicksand. Hazel orders Frank to hand her one of his bow and for him to not let go of the other. She jumps into the mud and hopes she can reach Percy. He is able to grab her ankle and she jerks the bow to let Frank know to pull them up. He does and they are all safe for a moment.

The three heroes make it into Seward, and Hazel is amazed at how much everything has changed. Her old home is still standing, but it bad shape. She crawls inside through a window and sees boxes of greeting cards have been stored there. She removes a sign to see her old pictures and drawings are still hanging on the wall. Percy asks about Sammy and says he looks familiar. Frank leaves them to go get supplies. Percy and Hazel set up the boxes like mattresses and try to get some rest while they wait. Percy wonders if the prophecy of him drowning was going to be in the earth. Hazel reminds him the rest of the page was burnt and it could mean something completely different. Frank returns with supplies and they go to get food. Hazel talks to some locals and finds out Hubbard Glacier is much further than she thought. A gryphon attacks and Percy is able to use his control over water to knock it into the sea. There are more in the distance coming right for them. Arion appears to take them across the water and to the glacier.

Arion runs on top of the water to get to the glacier. He is able to run and jump his way up to the top. They come to a Roman-like city at the top. Death is chained up in the middle and appears to be alone. They all know it is most likely a trap, but don’t have any choice but to step into it. As soon as they start to approach Death, Alcyoneus’ ghostly army of fallen Romans arrive.

Death is surprised they are so determined to free him; especially Hazel, his master’s daughter, who has already died. Hazel and Frank both commit to freeing Death to save the rest of the world. Death tells them the fire of life is the only thing that can break his chains. Frank knows he means the piece of wood that is tied to his life line. The golden giant Alcyoneus appears and greets them.

The three heroes don’t have much time to plan out their attacks. Frank knows what he has to do and asks Hazel for the stick she is holding for him. After he assures her he is ready, she gives it back to him. Alcyoneus has been following Percy’s life and is excited at the thought of him joining them. He tells them Kronos’ mistake was not destroying the gods at their roots. They quickly decide Percy will keep the ghosts away from Frank. Hazel decides she will fight the giant made to be her father’s enemy. She rides off on Arion.

Frank starts burning away the chains around Death’s feet first. He can feel his life burning away as he uses the fire of his life to break the chains. He sees Percy is distracting the ghosts using a hurricane and the legion’s eagle. Once Death is free, he promises to keep those that die on the battle field dead. Frank hears Hazel scream, but sees Percy is also being overrun by enemies. Percy shouts for Frank to go help Hazel and he does. He sees Arion trying to protect Hazel as she struggles to get up. Frank focuses on his family gift and turns himself into an Eagle. He claws at Alcyoneus’ eyes and lands in front of Hazel. He changes into a bear next and charges at the giant. He is able to knock Alcyoneus down and starts beating him with a heavy Roman shield. Alcyoneus laughs at him knowing he can’t be killed in his home, which is now Alaska. Frank tells Hazel they have to try to get Arion to drag the giant far away. She points out that Percy is being over taken. Percy yells for them to go. He stabs his sword into the glacier. The ghostly army, parts of the glacier, and Percy are taken down in a wave of icy water.

Frank is so stunned that Hazel has to get his attention to knock out Alcyoneus again. Thanatos reminds them they cannot kill the giant in Alaska. Hazel asks if he is going to take her back to the underworld, but she is not on his list. He tells them he will need to go to the original Rome to close the doors of Death, but he doesn’t know how they will do it. Not able to help Percy right away, Frank and Hazel have Arion pull Alcyoneus out of Alaska and into Canada. Frank becomes an elephant to fight him and Hazel uses her sword to kill the giant. They race back to Glacier bay.

Percy is waiting for them when they return. They fill him in on why the left and Percy is jealous of Frank’s power to transform himself into animals. They spend some time gathering imperial gold weapons to take back to Camp Jupiter. They pack as much as they can into a chariot and have Arion pull it for them.

When they get back to camp, it doesn’t look good for their side. Frank is surprised Lupa isn’t there to help them, but Percy knows she has to look out for her own pack. Percy whistles and Tyson, Mrs. O’Leary, and Ella come to them. He introduces everyone quickly and Tyson is excited to have another relative (Frank).

Hazel rides Arion, Frank becomes an eagle, and Tyson charges into battle. Percy hooks the chariot up to Mrs. O’Leary and have her carry the weapons down to the Fifth Cohort. They follow the eagle and Percy to join with the Third to scare off the centaurs. They head towards Polybotes and the First and Second Cohorts. Percy raises up the eagle and it shoots lightning that destroys an entire line of monsters. He hands the eagle off to Dakota and sends Frank, Hazel, and Tyson to help the Fourth Cohort that is surrounded by cyclopses. The Amazon arrive lead by Hylla and fight with the Romans. Percy challenges the giant and quickly learns Polybotes’ touch changes water to poison. The demigod knows he needs a god’s help to kill him. He leads the giant into town where Terminus’ statue is. He is not happy that Percy tries to bring a weapon inside the Pomerian Line. Polybotes ends up crushing the statue as he takes his trident over the line, so Terminus agrees to help Percy, who uses the statue’s head to kill Polybotes. The Roman army chants for Percy to be their new Praetor.

They Feast of Fortuna is held and Percy moves from table to table to talk to people. Kinzie expresses her interest in Percy, but he isn’t interested. Percy is taken off probation and given medals. That night to celebrate, Hazel, Frank, and Percy walk around town. Percy decides to go to bed early to give them some time alone together. Juno appears in Percy’s dream. He is furious he has lost eight months, but she tries to explain it was necessary to keep him out of play for a while. She tell him Annabeth will be an issue on the quest, but Percy can’t believe his girlfriend wouldn’t be one of the best people to take on the quest.

The next morning, Percy meets up with his friends on the way to the council meeting. Frank shows him that Mars left him The Art of War by Sun Tzu, which was Frank’s mother’s favorite book. Hazel thinks she must be cut off from her father as a way to preserve her life. Pluto wouldn’t be able to let her live if he saw her escaped from the underworld. Percy explains he needs both of them on the next quest as part of the seven demigods. They all agree they will need to take Ella because Octavian would abuse her. Tyson brings Percy a scroll from Leo saying they are about an hour away from Camp Jupiter in their war ship. This is the subject of discussion when they get to the council meeting. Percy puts his life on the line that the Greeks are there to help them. Reyna supports him and they let the ship land.

About the Blogger

My name is Michelle, and I like to read... a lot. As I read a book, I take notes after each chapter. When I finish the book, I type out a summary and post it in this blog.It has taken me a while to find a process that really works. Some of my older summaries will be short and just summarize the overall plot.